According to Newsweek magazine, the Bergen County Academies is ranked 21st in the country for best public high schools. The Bergen County Academies is a public magnet school who prides themselves on their rigorous courses and many student accomplishments. In order to get into the school I had to take a test, and then get called back for an interview. The “magnet” part of the school is that each student has a major. Similar to a college setting, each student is required to enter into a major- mathematics and science, engineering and design, medical science, business and finance, culinary arts and hospitality administration, visual and performing arts, and technology and computer science. I entered into the Academy for Culinary Arts and Hospitality Administration.
My brother is two years older than me and attended the Bergen County Academies in the Academy for Business and Finance. Therefore, when I was accepted into the school, I had a bit of an advantage. He was able to tell me what to expect and a little about the work load. However, even with this information, I was in for a wake-up call. The first semester of my freshman year was a big adjustment. I was not used to having to study for long periods of time. Although I knew it was going to be difficult, I did not realize how difficult. I came from a middle school where I always felt smart and never had to push myself too hard to do well. Within the first month of being at the academies, I realized a few things. First, I was not the smartest student anymore. There were now many other kids at my level and above. This was difficult for me to adjust to. I no longer was the one the teacher relied on or other students came to for a question. I was now the kid that had to go to other students for questions and meet with teachers for extra help. Second, I realized I would need to change my study habits completely if I wanted to succeed at this school. I began to make extra help schedules in my more difficult classes, got a peer tutor, and set aside much more time to do my work. Although at the time, this was very difficult, I now see it taught me good habits. Not being the smartest kid brought me down a bit, but I needed it to happen in order to realize my potential, and changing my study habits taught me, well, better study habits, and taught me to manage my time much better.
Additionally, I was very involved throughout high school. I played sports for 2 seasons every year, I was involved in many clubs, and I was in a peer leadership program. Although these activities took up a lot of my time, it made it easier to practice time management and avoid procrastination. When playing a sport, I knew I would not have much time after school to do homework, so I would practice taking advantage of free time throughout the day and make schedules to study in advance. Participating in clubs taught me to be responsible and taught me organization skills. It was important to show up for every meeting and participate, as well as help with different events run by the organization. Finally, the peer leadership program shaped who I am as a person. It is a selective program in which 100 applicants apply, and only 20 are accepted. The group runs the freshman orientation and many other service events. Each year we had a class with this group where we learned about different communication, leadership, and people skills. This organization helped me grow as a person and taught me skills that I will be able to use for the rest of my life. They also influenced me to decide to pursue education as my major because it helped me realize who I am and the kind of people I want to deal with in my career.
My most influential teacher was my freshman year Spanish teacher. Growing up I was never great at learning languages, in middle school, it was simple memorization, however, when I got to high school, I was placed in Spanish I/II. This meant they were teaching two years of Spanish in one year. It was an accelerated, fast-paced course and the teacher did not slow down for anyone. I struggled the most in this class and did not know what to do. After the first marking period I received a C+. This was when I realized something needed to be done. In middle school I had never received anything lower than an A, and now a C+, but I had to put my emotions aside and really buckle down to bring my grade up. I began meeting with the teacher on a weekly basis, and found a tutor from the honor society to meet with me each week as well. I would meet with my tutor and do practice work and then go to my teacher and go over it with her. By second semester I was able to bring my grade up to a B-, and by senior year was receiving A’s in Spanish 5. Although the C+ was my lowest grade in high school, I felt I learned more from this class than any other. It taught me to not be ashamed of extra help or a tutor, and that if I really put all my effort into it, I could do anything.
My brother is two years older than me and attended the Bergen County Academies in the Academy for Business and Finance. Therefore, when I was accepted into the school, I had a bit of an advantage. He was able to tell me what to expect and a little about the work load. However, even with this information, I was in for a wake-up call. The first semester of my freshman year was a big adjustment. I was not used to having to study for long periods of time. Although I knew it was going to be difficult, I did not realize how difficult. I came from a middle school where I always felt smart and never had to push myself too hard to do well. Within the first month of being at the academies, I realized a few things. First, I was not the smartest student anymore. There were now many other kids at my level and above. This was difficult for me to adjust to. I no longer was the one the teacher relied on or other students came to for a question. I was now the kid that had to go to other students for questions and meet with teachers for extra help. Second, I realized I would need to change my study habits completely if I wanted to succeed at this school. I began to make extra help schedules in my more difficult classes, got a peer tutor, and set aside much more time to do my work. Although at the time, this was very difficult, I now see it taught me good habits. Not being the smartest kid brought me down a bit, but I needed it to happen in order to realize my potential, and changing my study habits taught me, well, better study habits, and taught me to manage my time much better.
Additionally, I was very involved throughout high school. I played sports for 2 seasons every year, I was involved in many clubs, and I was in a peer leadership program. Although these activities took up a lot of my time, it made it easier to practice time management and avoid procrastination. When playing a sport, I knew I would not have much time after school to do homework, so I would practice taking advantage of free time throughout the day and make schedules to study in advance. Participating in clubs taught me to be responsible and taught me organization skills. It was important to show up for every meeting and participate, as well as help with different events run by the organization. Finally, the peer leadership program shaped who I am as a person. It is a selective program in which 100 applicants apply, and only 20 are accepted. The group runs the freshman orientation and many other service events. Each year we had a class with this group where we learned about different communication, leadership, and people skills. This organization helped me grow as a person and taught me skills that I will be able to use for the rest of my life. They also influenced me to decide to pursue education as my major because it helped me realize who I am and the kind of people I want to deal with in my career.
My most influential teacher was my freshman year Spanish teacher. Growing up I was never great at learning languages, in middle school, it was simple memorization, however, when I got to high school, I was placed in Spanish I/II. This meant they were teaching two years of Spanish in one year. It was an accelerated, fast-paced course and the teacher did not slow down for anyone. I struggled the most in this class and did not know what to do. After the first marking period I received a C+. This was when I realized something needed to be done. In middle school I had never received anything lower than an A, and now a C+, but I had to put my emotions aside and really buckle down to bring my grade up. I began meeting with the teacher on a weekly basis, and found a tutor from the honor society to meet with me each week as well. I would meet with my tutor and do practice work and then go to my teacher and go over it with her. By second semester I was able to bring my grade up to a B-, and by senior year was receiving A’s in Spanish 5. Although the C+ was my lowest grade in high school, I felt I learned more from this class than any other. It taught me to not be ashamed of extra help or a tutor, and that if I really put all my effort into it, I could do anything.